Brothers
by rebeck
Summary: Inspired by a simple piece of dialogue from many season ago. Don Flack had a brother, but he tried not to talk about him much.


I remember this episode in season 3, maybe, when Don mentions a brother, who was never mentioned again. I thought I'd try to fill in the blanks.

O.O.O.O.O.O.O

"Hey Flack, you know they're making a movie of that show from the 80s, 21 Jump Street? Did you watch that? Man, I used to love that show!" Danny announced to Don Flack as he smacked a newspaper ad for the film against the detective's desk.

"Oh yeah, I loved that show too. I used to watch it with my brother after supper. Johnny Depp was on that, isn't that weird to think now?" Flack replied with a smile, glancing at the advertisement and then back to the report he was working on.

"Yeah, well I don't think Johnny Depp's gonna be in the movie, and I can't decide if I want to see it cause… wait, your brother? I thought it was just you and Sam?"

Don's smile faded quickly as his face fell. He awkwardly shifted in his chair, leaning back to look his friend in the eye, mentally debating whether to reveal to Danny a piece of information that he usually kept exceptionally close to the vest. Meanwhile, Danny stared at him with an air of complete confusion.

"Uhh, yeah, I had a brother… his name was Kevin. He was three years older than me so I didn't have much say in what we watched," Don slowly pronounced the words, adding the last part in a half-hearted attempt to shift the focus back to the TV show and away from his personal life. Unfortunately, he knew that Danny was far too intelligent to fall for such a ruse.

"You had a brother? So, you mean, he died?" Now it was Danny's turn to shift, uncomfortable with this new information about his old friend and unsure of how to react.

"Kevin, he, he was hit by a car when he was 15. I didn't really watch Jump Street after that."

"Oh. I didn't know that Don. I'm really sorry to hear that."

"Danno, it's okay, seriously. I've never really told anyone. It happened a long time ago," Don said as scribbled his signature across the page and filed it away in his desk drawers. "I'm off the clock, so I'm gonna head out. Let me know if you want to see that movie when it comes out." He flashed his signature smile and turned towards the exit.

"So, you still wanna see it, then?"

O.O.O.O.O.O.O

An hour later, Danny and Lindsay left the precinct and walked together to their car. As he jangled the keys in his hand, Danny wrestled with the idea of telling his wife about what he had learned about Don. On one hand, it was a personal detail that Flack had never shared before, but on the other hand, there was no other hand. Flack wouldn't expect him to keep such a thing from Lindsay.

"Hey Linds, I had a really awkward conversation with Flack today. I just didn't know what to say to him, like"

"Oh geez, did he tell you about his days back at the Catholic school? Our weirdest conversations have started that way, I try not to bring up school or chalkboards or"

"No, Linds," Danny interrupted, "he told me about how he had a brother who died when he was like, 12 years old. His brother was 15 and I guess he got hit by a car."

"Oh my god, wow, I, don't know what to say. I didn't know that, Don has never mentioned a brother to me. Did he just bring it up, or did you say something?"

"Well we were talking about 21 Jump Street and he said he used to watch it with his brother. And I said, I thought it was just you and Sam and then it just got so personal and awkward and I didn't, I couldn't… God, Linds, I've known this guy for more than 10 years and I never once asked him. He's my best friend, how do I even"

"Danny, relax!" said Lindsay, taking her turn to interrupt her rambling husband. "It's okay, Don probably doesn't talk about it much, and I don't think it is a coincidence that he hasn't brought it up to you, to me, or maybe, anyone."

"Yeah, alright, I guess you're right. I'll drive, okay?"

"Sure. But what am I supposed to do with this information now?"

"Well, like you said, he probably doesn't like to talk about it so… let's talk about something else. Did you watch 21 Jump Street?"

O.O.O.O.O.O.O

Flack unlocked the door of his apartment and set the takeout Chinese on his table. Throwing his blazer on the couch, he collapsed onto the recliner and closed his eyes. His exhaustion was overwhelming. Not only had the most recent case been stressful and draining - a double homicide in Brooklyn of 2 young university students – but his conversation with Danny had triggered a flood of memories, memories he hadn't thought about in a long time. The traffic that evening had been brutal, and the whole ride home all he could think of was Kevin.

_1984_

"_Donnie, you gotta tuck your legs in! You can't just jump and call it a cannonball!"_

"_Well how do I do it then?!"_

"_Watch, you gotta tuck them in while you're in the air. Then you get a killer splash."_

"_Let's do it together next to mom and we'll splash her!"_

_10 seconds later, a veritable tidal wave had soaked the better part of the deck at the public swimming pool._

"_Boys, you got water on my magazine! And on your sister!"_

_1987_

"_Donno, there's a new show airing, come watch it with me!"_

"_What is it called? Move over, you can't hog the whole sofa."_

"_It's called 21 Jump Street, there are cops and they go to high school or something. It looks cool."_

"_I can't wait to go to high school."_

"_Only 2 more years for me! Haha, 5 more for you, loser."_

_1988_

"_Okay, look, you have to borrow the 1. You should write it above the 4 there, and you won't forget to add it in," Kevin instructed, in the dim light of their kitchen. _

"_But where did the 1 come from?! I do not see a 1 in this question!" Don whined, exasperated and still confused despite the ongoing duration of the present study session._

"_No, it means a 10, like you took away 10 from the 60 and now it becomes 50, so you can add it to the 4 and it becomes 14. Now you can subtract 8 from 14."_

"_Where is the 14, Kevin!" Don whined again, placing his head in his hands. He was on the brink of tears but he couldn't, wouldn't let anyone see it. _

"_Should we get him a tutor, Henry? He just doesn't seem to be grasping this…" Jane whispered to her husband. Standing in the doorway, they thought they were out of earshot from their sons. _

"_Mom, I heard that!" Kevin yelled. "I'll teach this to him, just give me a bit more time. We won't give up."_

O.O.O.O.O.O.O

And then his mind wandered to the last moments he had shared with his brother, before everything changed.

_1990_

"_Dad, coach just called and he said that baseball is cancelled on account of the rain!"_

"_What! Kevin! Can't we just practice inside or something? I'm so bored!" Don shouted as he raced out from the living room, a look of utter disappointment obvious on his face. _

"_Hey, don't shoot the messenger, Donno. But seriously, Dad, he's right, it is so boring today," Kevin stated, ever factual and calm._

"_What are asking me for, guys? Why don't you go over to your friends' houses? Call up Nick or Logan or someone," Henry replied, barely averting his gaze from the recipe book he was analyzing. _

"_Dad, I'm not even kidding, they are all on vacation. Every single one of them. And since we took our vacay in July, Don and I are friendless and bored," said Kevin, laying out the facts._

"_Well, you boys didn't want to take part in that science camp Samantha is in, so…"_

"_Dad, I'm in remedial math, how do you think I'd survive at science camp? They do chemistry and shit," Don retorted, slightly more aggressively than his older brother. That was something he was working on, with Kevin's help._

"_Donald, don't use that word. Kevin, go get my wallet and grab a twenty. You can bike to the corner store and rent a movie, alright?" Henry compromised, pointing to the closet where his jacket hung._

"_YESSSSS!" Kevin and Don cried as they pumped their fists in celebration._

"_Can I go with him?" Don asked eagerly._

"_Just stay here, Donnie," Henry said flatly, his voice muffled by fridge door._

"_Fine. Rent something good though, okay Kev? Like Ghostbusters," he said to his brother. "Or Die Hard," he mouthed the words. This was met with a large grin from Kevin, and a thumbs up. They hadn't been allowed to see Die Hard in theatres, this was a perfect opportunity!_

"_Don, do you want cracker jack or skittles for the movies?" Kevin asked. He snapped the buckle on his helmet and zipped up his windbreaker._

"_Definitely cracker jack, please."_

"_Kay, see you soon!"_

When Kevin hadn't returned 45 minutes later, Henry and Don went looking for him. Less than 2 blocks from their house, a crosswalk had been sectioned off with police tape and traffic was being redirected.

Henry's coworker, Officer McCarthy, turned around. When he saw the father and son, his face fell. His green eyes looked desperately sad, and as he pulled Henry away from the crowd, Don knew that nothing in his life would ever be the same.


End file.
